The Riftbreaker News

The action of The Riftbreaker is set hundreds of years into the future. Centuries of technological progress allow for the automation and simplification of many processes that are huge undertakings today. Various multi-stage tasks can be handled by autonomic facilities that require only basic resources and power to operate. Unfortunately, the production of nuclear power is not one of those processes that can be neatly wrapped up into one package. Even though it has been simplified a lot, it still requires a fair bit of setup and that’s our topic for today.

Rare Mineral Mine - a universal building that will relieve you of the mining duties.

It would be impossible to produce energy in a Nuclear Power Plant without proper fuel. Luckily, there are natural deposits of uranium ores present on Galatea 37, although they are quite rare. If you happen to find one, you should do your best to make use of it. While it is possible to mine uranium using Mr. Riggs’ drill extension, it is much easier to set up a specialized mine to do the dirty work for you.

The centrifuges do not have to be built next to the power plant, but we like them this way :)

The isotope of uranium that you find in the ore is not pure enough to sustain a chain nuclear reaction. It has to be enriched in order to be used as fuel. This task is handled by Uranium Centrifuges. These devices make it possible to harvest a much more volatile isotope of uranium that can be easily used as fuel. The collected enriched uranium is then automatically transported to the real star of the show - the Nuclear Power Plant.

Mr. Riggs is four meters tall - the power plant is a really massive structure.

This impressively large building houses a reactor that produces massive amounts of energy. As long as the building is supplied with enough fuel, it keeps on working, unaffected by the time of day or weather conditions. It is a perfect power source for all the systems that need to stay online all the time, such as AI cores and defensive towers. Be careful, though - if something bad happens to the Power Plant, it could be disastrous for your entire base.

Not great, not terrible.

Nuclear power in The Riftbreaker comes at a significant cost. It requires you to download relevant blueprints, build specialized structures that cost a lot of resources, and find a rare mineral. However, the upside of building one is great, most likely allowing you to decommission most of the other Power Plants in your base. It’s one of the big payoffs in the game, and there are more to come! Join our Discord to get to know about them first, and perhaps try them out in the alpha soon! www.discord.gg/exorstudios

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www.mixer.com/exor_studios
www.twitch.tv/exorstudios
www.youtube.com/exorstudios

www.twitch.tv/exorstudios

Not much is known about Galatea 37. Long-distance scans revealed that the planet is habitable, has several climate zones and large deposits of resources that can be utilized by humans. That’s not much, especially given the fact that you’re supposed to jump through a rift to that planet. It means that you will have to explore and learn everything on your own - and the planet holds many secrets, both above and below the surface. One of the tools that will help you find what is hidden underground is our new treasure detector.

Sometimes you will find a bunch of rare crystals...

The detector is a tool that you can craft in the Armory and equip in one of Mr. Riggs’ hands. You can then use it to search for hidden objects of interest underground. It is activated by holding the button corresponding to the right or left hand, just like a weapon. When the detector is on, it generates audiovisual cues that increase in frequency the closer you are to a place where you can start digging.

There are many things to be found beneath the surface of Galatea 37, however, you never know exactly what you are going to discover. The detector only indicates the location where something can be dug up. Sometimes, you will get lucky and uncover a deposit of carbonium right next to your headquarters. Other times, you might help a geothermal vent break the surface, which you can later utilize as an effective power source. You can also find pieces of rare minerals. It almost seems like the detector is a gift that keeps on giving, right?

...other times a deposit of uranium...

There’s a catch. As you know (or rather don’t know) no records of Galatean wildlife are available. We don’t know what species of creatures inhabit this planet, what their habitats are and how they behave. Sometimes, instead of digging up a space equivalent of a pirate treasure chest, you might discover an unknown creature, or even worse - an entrance to an entire hive. A hive that is home to very hostile species. A hive, the ceiling of which you have just drilled through…

Using the detector gives the players incentives to leave the base and start exploring the rich world of Galatea 37. We want to reward players for taking the risk of leaving the safety of their outposts and make the time investment worthwhile. Even if the exploration ends with digging up a burrowed monster, we will reward the effort with some sweet loot. It’s very likely that the range of possible outcomes will expand as the project evolves further. The design space for this item is very broad and we want to make the most of it.

...and sometimes you'll trigger a geological event! (Excuse the inconsistency regarding the marked spot and the vent itself. Firmware update to the detector will solve the issue).

What kind of hidden things would you like to add to the list? Let us know in the comments and on our Discord server (where you can also sign up for the alpha!). www.discord.gg/exorstudios

Other social media:
www.facebook.com/exorstudios
www.twitter.com/exorstudios
www.mixer.com/exor_studios
www.twitch.tv/exorstudios
www.youtube.com/exorstudios

www.mixer.com/exor_studios

Hey there!

We would like to thank you for all the feedback and the positive reception of The Riftbreaker. It’s great to see so many people joining us on our journey every day. Today, instead of our traditional Friday devlog, we would like to present to you an updated version of our official FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). It has been updated with all the latest information available on the project.

If you happen to have any additional questions, leave a comment or catch us on Discord.

What kind of game is The Riftbreaker?
The Riftbreaker is a base building game with elements of action RPG, exploration and survival.

Is this similar to Factorio and They Are Billions?
A little bit. Both these games served as an inspiration for us, with a little bit of Diablo sprinkled in as well. The list of our inspirations is quite extensive.

What platforms will it be available on?
PC, Playstation and Xbox. Nintendo Switch is not planned at the moment, but it’s not out of the question.

Can I play using a gamepad/mouse/keyboard?
We designed the controls with both keyboard + mouse and gamepads in mind.

When will it be released?
Our current prediction is late 2020. This might change, of course.

Is the release date October 21st?
No. It’s been a running joke in our community because of what Voidreaver said on one of our streams. Here’s the clip - https://www.twitch.tv/exorstudios/clip/FunnyCreativeWolfDoggo

Is it free to play?
No. The Riftbreaker is a premium game, you’ll need to buy it in order to play.

Will it cost $60?
We don’t know the exact price but it will be lower than $60.



Is this Unity/Godot/Unreal?
None of the above. The Riftbreaker runs on our own engine called The Schmetterling.

...but why?
When we were starting out we couldn’t afford a good engine and the free tools were not as good as they are today. We decided to create our own tech and simply kept expanding on it.

How is it that your engine is called The Schmetterling, which is a German word, although you are a Polish studio?
There are two stories behind this. The first one is that it's 'lightweight, beautiful and fast' - just like a butterfly (Schmetterling is a butterfly in German). The second (and the true one) is that the lead programmer thought that the word sounds funny, and we decided to just roll with it.

What are the system requirements for the game?
We don’t have the exact specs yet, but we will do our best to optimize the game well and make it run smoothly on most PCs, not just the high-end ones.

Will there be microtransactions?
Definitely not. There might be DLCs offering additional content, but no microtransactions that allow you to gain an advantage in the game or progress more quickly.

Is there an alpha/beta I can join?
We are planning to launch an alpha test very soon. You can find the link to the application form on our Discord in the #faq channel.

Alpha keys when?
We don’t know exactly. We are planning to release closed Alpha keys in small batches over time. We are currently preparing crash and bug reporting tools for the game. This way you will be able to easily send us feedback, and we will solve your problems a lot faster. We are also finishing a large portion of new gameplay features that we’d like to be included in the nearest update.

Are there any keys out yet?
Yes, a select group of streamers and influencers received a chance to have an early first look at the game. A few people from our Discord community received access as well.

When I get access to Alpha, is the game mine to keep forever?
Unfortunately, no. The test keys will be deactivated before launch. We may decide to gift full game keys to the most active members of the closed testing phase.



Where can I see the unedited gameplay?
We stream from our office twice a week. Tuesdays at 3 PM CET we are live on Mixer. Thursdays, 3 PM CET - Twitch. Follow us to get notifications - www.mixer.com/exor_studios and www.twitch.tv/exorstudios - you can also watch VODs if you can’t watch us live.

Can I stream the game?
Of course! We even have special features to integrate the game with your Mixer/Twitch chat. Simply let us know about your channel in the Alpha application.

What game modes are there in the game?
We are planning a story campaign, a survival mode, and a sandbox mode.

Is there multiplayer?
Not at the moment. We are going to release the game with singleplayer only. After that, we will start working on online coop. We are a small team and need to set priorities - hope you understand. ;)

How long is the game going to be?
We don’t know the exact length of the Story Campaign. A typical Survival Mode run lasts about 60-120 minutes, and you can additionally tweak that number using the custom difficulty settings.

Can I pilot a different Mech?
No. Mr. Riggs is the only Mech in the game, but we are thinking about adding some customization options for you.

Can I change the character I play?
No. Ashley is the only playable character in The Riftbreaker.

Can I upgrade the Mech?
Yes! Researching new technologies and tools to equip Mr. Riggs with will be a major aspect of the game. You can expect a lot of options in that regard.



Can I travel to different planets?
No. The action of The Riftbreaker takes place on Galatea 37, a planet in the distant reaches of the Milky Way. Your task is to prepare it for human colonization, so it will be the only planet you see in the game. There will be plenty of places to visit, so do not worry.

Is there only one map we can play on?
No. The levels are procedurally generated, so each playthrough is going to be different.

Do you visit different places during the campaign?
Yes, the campaign will require you to discover and visit a lot of new biomes. They are treated as separate maps, though, and will be separated by loading screens.

Can we automate things or use drones?
Most of the basic operations, such as resource collection and ammo production do not require any action from the player. You just need to build factories and you’re set. We are also going to give you the option of using drones for some more advanced things.

Can I build an army of automated units to defend my base?
No. In The Riftbreaker you use a variety of defensive towers and Mr. Riggs himself to defeat your enemies. There is no option to build or control other units.

Will there be mods?
We are not going to obfuscate the game file structure at all, so you are free to tweak the parameters any way you want. We will give you access to most or all of our internal game development tools

If you can think of any additional questions we can add to this FAQ, let us know.

Visit us on our social media!

Other social media:
www.facebook.com/exorstudios
www.twitter.com/exorstudios
www.mixer.com/exor_studios
www.twitch.tv/exorstudios
www.youtube.com/exorstudios